Hope before centenary

Bihar setting example to other states

What is common between Sachin Tendulkar and Bihar? Nothing, except the fact that while the master blaster has completed 99 international centuries, Bihar has completed 99 years of its existence.

As people wait with bated breath for ‘Ton’dulkar to complete his 100th century, Bihar too is gearing up for a year-long centenary celebration.


Separated from Bengal on March 22, 1912, Bihar is not only an ancient land of Lord Buddha, but also boasts of sowing the first seed of republic of the world. United by the religious and cultural diversity of its people and divided by the holy Ganga, which cuts through it like a life-infusing vein, Bihar has been the karmabhoomi of Buddha, Mahavira, Chandragupta, Ashoka, and more recently, Mahatma Gandhi.

No wonder, whether it is President Pratibha Patil or Microsoft founder Bill Gates, every one keeps on showering encomiums on this land with remarkable history. And their praise is not wide off the mark. Bihar has always shown light to the world. And it still is doing so.

Once a part of the Bimaru states in northern India, the image is undergoing a steady change. It has not only won good words from Central government agencies but also from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the United States. The US organisation rates Bihar as second after Gujarat in good governance. The report noted: "Another positive example in 2011 has been Bihar, one of India's poorest states, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has won national attention through his considerable success in emphasising good governance over caste-based politics.

"He is credited with restoring law and order across much of the state, as well as overseeing infrastructure and educational improvements of direct benefit to common citizens projects," it added.

The improvement in law and order situation, nay a stray incidents of kidnapping and murders, has come in for praise. It is claimed that days of jungle raj are over in Bihar.
The state has several first to its credit.

Bihar became the first State in the country to reserve 50 per cent seats for women in Panchayat elections. Now other states want to follow suit so as to help women empowerment. Yet another example is the Chief Minister bicycle yojana for school-going girls, which revolutionised girls’ education in Bihar. 

Another Bihar initiative has been the recruitment of ex-Army jawans in the State Auxiliary Police (SAP). The Centre as well as other naxal-infested States have evinced interest in knowing how this step helped check the Maoist menace.

And very recently, Bihar became the first State which seized the house of a corrupt IAS officer and opened a school for poor children. But then, this is not the first time that Bihar has been leading from the front. It always was a world leader. Be it the evolution of concept of non-violence (Emperor Ashoka), first Empire (Chandragupta Maurya), concept of zero, astronomy (Aryabhatt), first Republic (Vaishali, Licchavis), concept of satyagraha (Gandhiji’s Champaran movement), world first university (Nalanda) or the concept of highways/GT road (Shershah Suri). Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh too was born in Patna in 1660.

The state had the first university to its credit. Established during the reign of Kumara Gupta I (AD 414-445), Nalanda University was arguably the highest seat of Buddhist learning. Spread over in nearly two square kilometres, it had about 1500 professors and 10,000 students. Legend has it that scholars such as Panini and Jivaka studied there.

According to Chinese scholar Hieun Tsang, it was a six-storey building where the staff and students had a free board and lodging. Students were not charged any fee but entrance to the university was through an extremely tough test. The university
offered a choice of many subjects – philosophy, astronomy, literature, logic, Buddhism and Hinduism.

The university had helped spread Indian culture in many South Asian countries like Tibet, China and Japan. Nalanda University was destroyed towards the end of the 12th century by Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji, a general of Mohammad Ghori. Its ruins are a protected monument and a popular heritage site.

In these days, satyagraha evokes good response. Be it a social activist like Anna Hazare or hardcore politicians like Narendra Modi (Gujarat Chief Minister) and Shankarsinh Vaghela (Congress leader). They are resorting to fast to drive home their points.

Recent Anna’s fast has a few parallels to Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha during the freedom struggle. One of the districts Champaran became the laboratory of Gandhian experiment in Satyagraha. The British indigo planters had coerced the poor people of Champaran to grow indigo on 15 per cent of their land and part with the whole crop for rent. Indigo cultivation was profitable only for the British. The local peasants had only misery and penury. At the request of peasants, Gandhiji took up their cause.

Although he was arrested, the huge public support he attracted caused the magistrate to set him free, without any bail. This was the first instance of the success of civil disobedience as a tool to win freedom. The non-violent Champaran Satyagraha not only jolted the British, but also in later years it influenced Nelson Mandela’s struggle against apartheid in South Africa and inspired Martin Luthur King campaign during civil rights movement in the US.

Around 2550 years ago, Lord Buddha came to Bodh Gaya looking for quite retreat where he could meditate upon the causes for human suffering. In sixth century BC, Siddhartha attained supreme enlightenment and since then has been known as Buddha. In his commemoration, Emperor Ashoka set up Vajrasana (diamond throne) of polished sandstone representing the Seat of Enlightenment in the third century BC.

Thereafter, he built a stupa in veneration of the Buddha which remained there up to second century AD. Also, historical records show that Vaishali (also known as Vajji) across the river Ganga was the place where one of the world’s first democratic republics, one with an elected assembly of representatives.